I am one month into the sale of my flat in Canonbury and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Canonbury ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My wife and I are purchasing a property in Canonbury. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
There are numerous conveyancing solicitors in Canonbury but how do I know who I should use?
We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Canonbury conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Canonbury lawyer having made sure that they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Canonbury surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
It has been 2 months since my purchase conveyancing in Canonbury took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am purchasing a new build house in Canonbury with a loan from Halifax. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it will affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Canonbury I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Canonbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
My business partner and I are planning to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering fixed charges for non-domestic conveyancing in Canonbury for under £2000?
We can recommend firms who have well rounded knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Canonbury, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply premises. If you are intending to purchase or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we will find you the right firm. As for the fees these will vary based on the structure and terms of the proposed transaction. Please provide us with your details or phone so as to enable us to provide you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.